Inside Health

VITAL SIGNS: PREVENTION

VITAL SIGNS: PREVENTION; A Diet That's Beneficial at Any Age

By JOHN O'NEIL

Published: December 25, 2001

Switching to a healthy diet and eating less salt can lower the blood pressure of healthy young people as well as those with hypertension, according to a new report in The Annals of Internal Medicine.

The study, led by Dr. William Vollmer of the Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., found that people could reduce their blood pressure by cutting salt or by adopting the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), which is high in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, and low in red meats and sweets. Cutting salt and following the DASH diet worked better than either method alone. The largest reductions in blood pressure were found among three groups: people older than 45, patients with hypertension and African-Americans.

The report was based on a trial in which 412 people adhered strictly to the DASH diet for 90 days while changing their salt intake every 30 days. Earlier analyses had shown benefits for older people and those with high blood pressure but had left uncertain whether others had been helped.

Dr. Vollmer wrote that patients often had difficulty sticking to a low-salt diet (many processed foods and restaurant meals are high in salt) or to the DASH diet. By showing that each helps lower blood pressure, the study may help patients find a plan that is suitable, he wrote.

The findings also hold significance for young people with normal blood pressure, he said, because adopting these changes on a long-term basis may help blunt the increase in blood pressure that occurs with increasing age.